Prince of Destruction
by Dailin Coldfire
Summary: Mephisto and Diablo are dead. Baal, has been taken from his throne, and fled, hiding until his chance for revenge. And yet ... another evil arises. It is a race to Baal, and to kill this new threat aswell.
1. Chapter 1: Terror's End

**Prince Of Destruction  
Chapter 1:  
Terror's End  
**__

The Paladin stood over the bloody corpse of the Lord of Terror. Bleeding wounds covered his once terrifying appearance. He lay on the warm, stone ground of the Chaos Sanctuary.  
Rivers of lava bolied around the Sanctuary, fires emitting from them. Darkness filled the air above them; a dark cloud of souls screaming for freedom. It was Hell.  
"A place most fitting for a demon lord" said the Paladin.  
**"The denizens of Hell will feast upon your corpses, Holy Knight" Diablo spat.**  
Sir William, the Paladin who had slain his brothers, now stood before Diablo. But, alas, he had defeated the Lord of Terror himself. His reign of chaos would end at the blade of a knight. As so the prophecies foretold.

"You die tonight Diablo. Your Terror will no longer fill the hearts of mortals. You will be cast into the fires which you were born from. Never, to return."  
Diablo could feel the life seep from the wounds the Paladin and his Rogue friend had given unto him.  
**"Curse you, curse you both. One day, vengeance will be mine. Your souls will add an excellent addition to my collection" Diablo said in his deep, demonic voice, staring up at the skies of Hell.  
**Anna, the Rogue friend of Sir William, slung her bow over shoulder. She stared at the Lord of Terror, weak and dying on the grounds of his own home.  
"And your death brings pleasure to all, demon scum" Anna said.

Diablo lashed out at her, his enormous claws sinking into the ground, creating deep scratches.  
He roared, furiously, choking up blood. Diablo barred his fangs, a growl emitting from deep within him. You could see it in his evil, blood red eyes. There was hate. Hate for William and Anna, who had slain him.  
**"One day...you will die...and I will find you."** Diablo said in short breaths. His voice was becoming raspy, his lungs grasping at the last bits of air they could find as Diablo drifted to death.  
More blood spilled from his mouth.  
**"I will find you...and I will rip your hearts...out...with my bare hands. Your souls will rot in Hell...with me."**

"For some reason," William said, sheathing his blade, "I highly doubt that"  
Diablo tried to push himself up onto all fours. He collapsed back down instantly, his huge body creating vibrations in the ground. He hated to be so weak...so...fragile. His brothers would mock him now...if they were not dead aswell.  
**"Evil will not be defeated so easily"** Diablo teased, **"My brother...Baal...still lives. And the forces of evil...he marches with...will not go down...they will slaughter all mortals...and I will once again...walk the earth...with my brothers..." **He said. His demonic laughter echoed throughout the halls of the Sanctuary. But it was not true laughter, it was a final, pitiful attempt at last words.  
**"We will be named...the Demon Lords...of the world. Ruling the realm of Hell...and the Living...and one day...Heaven will fall before us. Chaos...will be the new Order...and there is...nothing..you...can do...to stop it"**  
More laughter erupted from the Lord of Terror. He brought a hand to his most fatal wound. A stab wound, in his chest, revealing ribs and organs.

**"Finish me mortal...finish me now...but let it be known...I will not stay dead..."  
**"I've heard enough. William, kill him" A frustrated Anna said.  
William unsheathed his sword, again, and pressed the end to Diablo's throat.  
"Any MORE last words?" William asked.  
**"I hate you" **Diablo said, in a deadly, threatening growl.  
"And so, it ends then"

William pushed the blade further, letting it sink into the flesh of Diablo's throat. Blood poured through the newest wound, more spurted from the demon lord's mouth. William twisted and turned the blade, grinding the inside of Diablo's throat. Making sure that he would not get back up.

"It's over" Anna whispered.  
William wrapped his arm around her, and kissed her forehead. "Yes, it is over. Terror, has met it's end" he said.  
"Good" was all Anna said.

The Sanctuary began to shake then. Violently, causing debris to fall from the walls, and create waves in the rivers of lava. The ground cracked, screams and fire erupting from them. Entire walls came crashing down, nearly crushing the Paladin and Rogue as they ran from the dying place.  
Outside was no better. Any demons left were literally exploding, screaming in agony as they met the same fate as their Lord.

Souls came raining down from above, creating black explosions as they hit the ground. Lava thrashed at the sides of the stone paths, sizzling. William and Anna kept running, dodging raining souls, dying demons, and the waves of lava.

Parts of the walkway began to give away, sinking into the deadly hot lava. Flaming rocks shot from the rivers, bringing more possibly death raining down onto the fleeing heroes.  
They could see the exit just ahead, and the waypoint that lead home.  
Hadriel, the angel, was calling for them.  
"Hurry heroes! The Sanctuary will consume you!"  
"We can see that!" yelled Anna.

She was a faster runner than William. Mainly because he was covered in armor, while Anna, a Rogue, was not. She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, making sure she didn't run to fast for him.  
"Hurry William!"  
"I'm going as fast as I damn can!"  
Just then, William tripped on the corpse of a fallen stygian hag. He flew face first, landing heavily on the ground with a loud **clang!** from his armor. He lifted himself up, bits of gore from the corpse he had tripped on, dripping from his armor.

The ground beneath William's foot gave away, causing him to fall backwards. Behind him, the river of lava that would consume him if he were to fall. He threw out his hand for Anna, who, luckily caught it. She held on strongly, doing her best to not let William fall into the lava.  
"Don't let me go Anna!" He yelled, trying to push himself back onto the ground slowly giving away beneath his legs. His only support were his knees, still on the walkway, and Anna's strength.  
"You know I'm not going to! Now get the Hell back up here you fool!" she cried.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" William yelled back at her. In a time like this, he was frustrated. After facing demons of massive power, and hordes of undead creatures, he would not let lava be the thing to finish him off.

_Anna steadied herself on the ground, grabbing William's arm with both hands. She pulled with all her strength, feeling the heavy strain on her arms.  
"Why do you have to wear so much damn armor!" she managed to yell out through gritted teeth. William flew forward, and landed on somewhat safe ground again. His back no longer facing a river of lava. But that wasn't the end. Again, the ground began to give away beneath William and Anna, and they both ran for their lives._

Large chunks of the walkway sank into the blazing hot lava, melting away instantly. It was hard to run on ground that felt like it was mud sinking back into the ground. Fire licked their heels, but still, they ran.  
Finally, they made to to where Hadriel was standing, and both dove through the archway. They turned to see streams of flame erupt from the lava. They watched large waves of lava crash against the remains of Diablo's Sanctuary.

"Luck is with you, heroes." Came Hadriel's voice.  
Anna and William turned to face him, and Anna smiled.  
"And for that, I'm glad"she said.  
"Now that Terror has met it's end, it is time for you to return to the Fortress. Tyrael will tell you your next quest."  
William stared at him, confused, "What do you mean, our **next** quest?"  
"You will see. Now, take the waypoint back to the Pandemonium Fortress."

William stood up, angered, and grabbed Anna's wrist, pulling her to the waypoint.  
"Ok, do you **have** to be so pushy?"  
"Let's just go and see Tyrael."  
Anna got free of William's grasp, "You're mad, aren't you?"  
"Killing Diablo was our quest. Now that he's gone, what is there left to do?"   
"There is **three **Prime Evils, you know.."  
"And prayers to the Heavens we don't have to fight the third one to"  
Anna grabbed William's hand, "Let's just get to the fortress and see what we have to do, before we start getting so angry like that"  
"I suppose you're right," William sighed, "It's been a week of Hell"  
Anna chuckled.

They stepped onto the waypoint. Glowing light surrounded them, and in a bright flash of light, they were gone.

A bright flash of light came from the fortress's waypoint. There stood Anna and William, the heroes of the day.  
"Welcome back, my friends" Deckard Cain said as he walked slowly towards them.  
"You have accomplished a most difficult task indeed."  
Anna ran upto Cain and hugged the old man. "Thought I'd never see you again, old man"  
Can chuckled, "The thought of you two never returning never crossed my mind. I knew you would defeat the Lord of Terror, Diablo"  
"Yes, that's all good Cain. But what's this we hear from Hadriel, about our **next quest?**"  
Anna stopped hugging Cain.  
Cain looked down and scratched his blading head, "You should speak to Tyrael. He will tell you what you need to know"  
"Very well" said Anna, walking away with William.  
"But do not fear, there will be time for rest!" Cain called to them.

Tyrael stood, or rather, floated there, in the corner of the fortress. He saw the two heroes coming. They had slain Diablo and others before him, which was incredible. But more evil still plagued the lands.  
Their next quest would not be an easy one...

"Welcome, mortal heroes" Tyrael greeted.  
"Diablo is dead" William stated.  
"Yes, I know. I no longer feel his presence in this world. I see you have great talent, Sir William. And Anna, of course. But your tasks are not complete"  
"Mhm, Hadriel told us so. What does that mean Tyrael?" Anna asked.  
"As you know, there is three Prime Evils. You have slain Diablo and Mephisto, the two elder brothers. But the third brother, the youngest of them, still lives. He now heads to Mount Arreat, where he plans to corrupt the Worldstone for his own purposes." Tyrael explained.  
"Baal, is the demon's name" said Deckard Cain from behind them.

"I've heard people speak of him before." William said.  
"I believe that. Many people know of the Lord of Destruction."  
"Such a lovely name" Said Anna sarcastically.  
"And now the time has come to end his Destruction, heroes. You must travel to Mount Arreat, and stop Baal from corrupting the Worldstone." Tyrael said, in his deep, booming angelic voice.  
"Indeed. We travel to the city of Harrogath, the last defense against Baal's army."  
"Harrogath, eh? I've heard of that place. It is very well known of where I come from" William said, thinking over the things he had heard about Harrogath.

"How will we get to such a far place in time?" asked Anna, puzzled.  
Suddenly, a bright red portal flashed open.  
"Enter this portal, and it will take you straight to Harrogath. Talk to Qual-Kehk, and the other citizens, for they will tell you the quests you need to complete in order to defeat Baal."  
Anna turned from the portal to Deckard Cain, "Will you be accompying us once again, old man?"  
Cain nodded, "Yes, I will come with you to Harrogath. I may be able to find important information there."

Cain walked to the portal, turning to Anna and William before he stepped through.  
"Come now, we don't want to be to late"  
The two heroes followed Cain through the portal, transporting them all the way to Harrogath.  
But when they got there, they did not see the last line of defense for Mount Arreat.  
They saw a chaos filled battle-field. Demons and barbarians fighting in a massive bloodshed of a battle.  
Baal's tolerance for the city had obviously quickly run out...


	2. Chapter 2: Retired?

**Chapter 2:  
Retired? **

William sat at the table of the pub, flipping a coin into the air with his thumb. His thoughts were concentrated on the past. The years filled with horrors. All the companions he had seen die, and yet, with all the things _he_ had done, William still lived.  
He flipped the coin up again, but it did not come back down.

He took his eyes away from the window, and saw Anna standing there, holding his gold coin. She was also holding a mug of ale.  
William took the mug with a smile. "Sit" he said.  
Anna pulled out the chair and plopped down on it. They both took sips of their ale, not speaking a word.

Anna sighed. "The party will take place in an hour..."she said, her voice just above a whisper.  
William nodded, and took another sip from his mug.  
"Will you be attending?" Anna asked him.  
He didn't speak a word. Just kept sipping his ale.  
Anna sat there watching him until all of it was gone. Now he had no reason to not speak.

_"Deckard Cain is dead!" came the voice.  
William took it all in full horror. He surveyed the town of Harrogath, burning ruins. The seige of Baal had come through, while William had been in Hell. He was to late...  
Baal had won the fight... _

"You are in the past" said Anna, half stating, half asking.  
William nodded.  
Anna took his hand. "What happened back then, you can not blame yourself for. Even we could not stop the evil forces that Baal had at command." She paused to let her words sink in, "And on the bright side, Baal is dead. Or at least somewhere he can't come back from. Does that mean nothing to you? What you accomplished?"  
"But those peopl-  
"Those people gave their lives fighting, when you couldn't. They died in honor. You should not take their deaths in vain by blaming yourself for them"  
"I should have been there"

Anna sighed. "You may think so, and you may not have been, but it was for good reasons."  
William gave her a suspicous look.  
"You were recovering from your battle with Diablo. If you had went to Harrogath any earlier, both Diablo, and Baal, would still walk this earth. But only Baal is left, and he is very weakened from the war"

_The screams of terror flew throughout the sky. Screams of dying people, caught in the ruins of their once beloved city. Harrogath. Baal had slaughtered them all...  
William drew his sword.  
"And for that, Baal will die!" _

William remembered his words from that night. His thoughts, and feelings, everything that happened.  
He looked up to Anna and smiled. She always made him feel good, no matter what happened. Probably why he had proposed to her.  
Him and Anna were to be married in three weeks time. Everyone was happy. They had something good to look forward to now.  
But still...there was a feeling. A feeling that made you think Baal would come back one day.

"It has been peaceful, even with all the thoughts of him" Anna said, practically reading William's mind.  
"Indeed. But he will return one day. We all know that"  
"Of course he will. We killed his brothers, and cast him from his own throne. Killing everyone would be the first thing on his mind..."  
"I doubt we will be ready"  
"I doubt that to"  
They sat there in silence for many moments. One of Anna's rogue friends opened the tavern door, and called for her to come. She waved good-bye to William as she hurried out the door.

"Where are you Baal?" William whispered as he stared out the tavern window.  
William heard enormous laughing, a rare sound anywhere, and turned to see what the commotion was.  
There was a cloaked necromancer, slamming his fist on the table, laughing hysterically. He picked his mug up and drained it.

But, he went to far back, and his chair fell right over. He landed with a heavy thud.  
He continued to laugh on the ground...  
William looked to the other person at the table.

He recgonized him instantly as an Iron Wolf. He was shaking his head, obviously embarassed by his friend's antics.  
What interested William the most was, what was an Iron Wolf doing in these parts?  
They never left Kurast anymore. Sometimes, yes, you would see them travelling through parts outside Kurast now and then. But here, in the monastery?  
He shrugged the thoughts off. It wasn't really his business.

William went back to thinking, calling the barmaid to bring him another mug of ale.  
"Ey, Paladin!" someone shouted from across the tavern.  
William turned to see the drunken Necromancer waving at him.  
"What is it?" William asked.  
The Necromancer grabbed his travel bag and walked to William's table, plopping down on a chair. He pulled it up to William.

"I hear you, know something of our dear friend...Baal." He said in a low tone.  
William just stared in confusion.  
"Am I correct?"  
"Yes, you are correct" William said finally, "but who is asking?"  
"I am"  
William glared at him.  
"Oh, my name, right" He extended a hand to William.

"I am Nostra, and this" he said, pointing to the Iron Wolf, "Is my friend, Damus"  
Damus bowed, without a word.

"Very well. Now what _**is it** _you want?"  
Nostra's face grew very serious, and he dropped his voice even lower.  
"Everything you know about Baal"

"Baal is dead"  
"Let's not be like that now"  
William glared at him again, "Who do you think you are, coming in here and asking me about Baal? He's dead, for all we know"  
"Or at least close to it"

Those words brought memories back to William's thoughts.  
Cain had said that exact statement as he lay on his death bed.  
"I see you are remembering Cain now"  
"Excuse me?"  
Nostra sighed. "I have seen things. Terrible things. You of all people should know Baal is not dead."  
"Oh, really. What have you seen?"  
"That is not important right now. What **_is_** important, is Baal being found."  
"Why do you want to find him so bad?"  
"Because someone else is already out there, looking for him"

"What do you mean-!  
Nostra threw a hand over William's mouth, "Keep your words quiet, my friend"  
William pushed Nostra's hand away.  
"I am **_not_**, your friend."  
"Then will you at least be a source of information to me?"  
William grabbed Nostra's collar and pulled his face to his own.  
"I can provide you with nothing, other than the possibility of Baal being dead"

Nostra pulled away from William, and stood up from his chair. He straightened the collar of his undershirt, staring down at William the entire time.  
"Very well. Do not be of assistance. But you do know that Baal will be back one day, and whether or not you help me, I will find him." Nostra said both angrily, and confident.  
He picked up his travel bag and slung it over his shoulder.  
"Good day, Sir William" he said as he stopped at the doorway, "Damus, let us take our leave"  
Damus nodded, pulling himself off the wall, and following Nostra out the door.

Anna bumped into the necromancer as she ran through the doorway.  
"Oh, my apolo...gies." Anna said, faltering her sentence.  
" 'Tis not a problem my lady" Nostra said, waving his hand as he walked down the path leading out of the village.  
Anna sat down beside William, confused.  
"What was a necromancer doing here?"  
William shrugged, "Looking for Baal, apparently"  
"What!"  
"That's what I said. But I couldn't get much from him"  
"Oh, and why not?" Anna asked, lifting her brow.  
"He was seeking answers, not giving them up. Necromancers are always a pain to talk to"  
Anna nodded, "So they are. Did he at least say his name?"

"Mhm. Nostra. Ever heard of him?"  
"No, afraid not" Anna shook her head.  
"He did, however, say that someone else was looking for Baal"  
"Whatever could that mean?"  
"Means we should start the search early..."  
Anna just stared at him, stricken. "We can't go after Baal now," she whispered, "It's **too **early.We can't break this time of peace now, because of something a necromancer said"  
"I know Anna, but we don't have much choice. We can't take the risk that this necromancer is right or wrong. Besides, it will just be me and you."  
Anna went to reply, but their conversation was broken by a shrill scream from outside the tavern.

"What in heaven's name was **that?**" The bartender shouted.  
William stood up from the table, "Trouble most likely. I'll take a look"  
The bartender nodded silently, trying to see outside with all the people in the tavern.  
"The necromancer..." Anna said, grabbing William's arm. "Be careful"  
"I will"

William pushed open the door, and saw people running and screaming from farther down in the village.  
He saw the necromancer, Nostra, and the Iron Wolf Damus, standing not far down the road. William jogged to catch up with them.  
"What are you doing!" William shouted, grabbing Nostra's shoulders, spinning him around.  
Both Nostra's, and Damus's faces were very serious. **To **serious. Nostra opened his mouth to speak;  
"I sense a demon's presence"


End file.
